The Heart Companion
by Mlle Lambert
Summary: Little scenes that would fit perfectly into one of my other stories, Heart. #1: It's date night. 'Nuff said!
1. Of Date Nights and Kitchen Countertops

**Author's Note: **Okay, as promised, I have a few outtakes I've been working on from _Heart_. These will show up in no particular order to the storyline...just depends on when I get them done and when inspiration strikes at four in the morning like it did tonight (yay). This one really isn't finished, but the scene is so I wanted to get it posted. It was so very fun to write, so I hope you enjoy!

**Summary:** It's date night-'Nuff said!

**Disclaimer: **I shudder to think what I'd do if I actually owned any of these characters...**  
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_Of Date Nights and Kitchen Countertops_  
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Their latest case was finally over, much to Castle's relief. It wasn't so much what the case was about—that didn't matter. It had just been a little bit more physically tolling than he had originally expected, and while he was well into his recovery from getting shot, some things were still not always easy.

Beckett was finishing up her paperwork, so not really paying much attention to him. In short, he was getting a little bored, but he was determined to stick around. Deciding that he might as well entertain himself, he inched his hands toward hers on the desk. Her eyes flicked toward the movement before moving back to the task at hand, but he knew she was still watching when she shook her head slightly, moved her free hand, and tangled it with his.

"How much longer?" Rick asked, trying not to sound quite as bored as he felt.

"Almost done…maybe fifteen minutes," she estimated without taking her eyes off the papers in front of her.

He checked his watch quickly. Plenty of time. "You still up for tonight? We can always reschedule."

"Yeah, tonight's still good," she answered with a smile. Ever since they'd decided that there was more to this than just a few bedroom games, they had agreed that no matter what, they would always have at least one date a week—on Friday nights at various restaurants around the city. "Remy's, right?"

"You got it."

She smiled.

"And then, we could, you know…go home, watch a movie…"

"Using code words, now, Castle?" Her hand moved from his hand to his knee, which she gave a squeeze.

His body reacted immediately. "Somebody's feeling frisky today."

"Long week."

He leaned in, his voice lowering. "I could maybe remedy that for you, Detective. You just have to pick the time and place."

Beckett's predatory smile and the sidelong glance probably would have only added fuel to the fire, except Esposito and Ryan chose that very moment to walk into the bull pen arguing over kitchen design, of all things.

"I'm telling you, man, you may like the thought of it now, but in a couple years you're gonna wish you'd listened to me," Esposito warned.

"Yeah, but Jenny likes Earth tones," Ryan replied.

"You know, you can overdo it with that," Esposito continued before turning to Beckett and Castle. "What would you two do? Chucklehead, here, thinks that he should make the new house's kitchen 'earthy,' but don't you think that having too much to that might make it too…"

"…Bland?" Castle finished for him.

"Yeah, my suggestion was maybe add some darker notes to offset the other colors… Maybe a black countertop or darker wood cabinets—" Esposito began.

"—But I'm afraid that if we do something like that, she'll hate it," Ryan finished.

"Have you thought about maybe—I don't know—consulting Jenny on this?" Beckett asked.

"It's supposed to be a surprise," Ryan replied sheepishly.

Castle nodded, vocalizing his praise at Ryan's thoughtfulness. "I know, how about you get me some color ideas you have and maybe I can help? I redesigned my kitchen a few years ago, so I might be able to give some good advice."

Ryan and Esposito both seemed satisfied by that answer and moved on to their own desks. Beckett shook her head. "And I thought they were going to drive me insane with the wedding plans."

"Are you kidding? They were stressing _me_ out, and I've been the groom at _two_ weddings!" He leaned back in his chair, looking over at the team. "I'm not surprised at all that he wants to get this just as perfect. It's endearing."

"You can't really blame him, can you?" Kate asked absent-mindedly.

"No, I'll probably be the same way."

She almost didn't catch it, so it took a moment to process. "You _will_?"

When their eyes met, he could only smile, and her returned gesture was just as genuinely adorable.

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**Okay, I promise I'll get out the continuation of this tomorrow! I was just so excited I didn't want to wait until tomorrow to post this part of it. I hope you enjoyed it! Even if you didn't please review and I'll love you forever!**


	2. Blue and White

**A/N: **First of all, I want to thank everyone who has reviewed so far and put this story on alert. It means a lot to me! So without further ado, here you go, as promised. I didn't do the date itself in detail, but I wanted to have a little of it. Enjoy!

**Summary:** Date Night, Part Two

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_**Blue and White**_

Rick held her hand through most of their dinner, his fingers knit with hers and his thumb gently caressing her index finger. It felt so natural—so normal. A smile stayed on her lips the entire time, whether it be wide in reaction to his crazy words or slight and content because they just had some time together that wasn't spent chasing bad guys.

They talked about everything—from the mundane to the important—and it didn't matter that they'd spoken part of it before. Conversations never got old when it came right down to it. When they did lapse into silence, it was always companionable, and one of them almost always broke it with an "I love you."

When the check came, Rick insisted on paying, much to Kate's mild annoyance. At her eyeroll, he simply defended himself with an excuse about making her feel loved.

"You know, it's far less romantic when you consider that it's a burger," she commented but couldn't help how her smile widened slightly.

Castle brushed off her remark with a smirk, rose, and offered his hand to help her out of the booth. They left the restaurant hand in hand. It was horribly clichéd, as he'd told her before, but she didn't care. They chose to walk for a while, enjoying the evening air, and as the sun began to set, they were settled on their favorite bench in Central Park.

"I love it when we come here," Kate mused as she watched the sun dip below the horizon.

The arm around her waist pulled her closer. "We really should do it more often."

"Definitely."

Silence fell again as they watched the colors start to paint in the sky. Rick kissed her hair. "I love you." He said it so openly, as if talking about the weather, but somehow it told her so much.

"I love you, too, Rick." Kate turned her face into his neck to breath in his scent.

And then he was fidgeting.

She lifted her head with a confused and slightly displeased look. He never fidgeted. "What—" she began, but was interrupted by a long and slightly heated kiss. She moaned into his mouth, suddenly wanting to be at his loft or her apartment at that exact moment. Pulling away, she rested her forehead against his. "Getting impatient?"

"Kinda," he replied softly before taking the hand she had resting against his chest and placing something in it.

Her mind registered that the object was box-shaped, smooth, and had a satin strip on it in only seconds before opening her eyes. It was blue with a white ribbon emblazoned with dark lettering: Tiffany & Co.

"What did you get me this time?" she asked, a bit frustrated at his never-ending need to buy her jewelry since they had began dating several months before.

"Open it," he offered, just as he did every time he gave her something like this.

She complied, hoping it wasn't another beautiful piece that she knew was horribly expensive. She knew it couldn't be a necklace. The box was too small. She pondered this while untying the ribbon, she removed the top to find another, smaller, black velvet box inside. "Oh my God…"

He moved then, turning to face her on the bench. "Kate, I know you might think I'm moving too fast with the question I'm about to ask you, but before you protest, let me explain. We've known each other for over three years. I've been attracted to you since the moment I met you and I've been in love with you for most of that time. I want you to be the first thing I wake up to every morning. I want you to be the one I spend the rest of my life with, but most importantly, I want you to be there at the end—whenever that may be. I love you more than I thought I could love anyone." He paused long enough to open the ring box. "Will you marry me?"

Kate stared at the platinum Tiffany solitaire. Rick was proposing. Richard Castle was proposing to her. Her mind couldn't process it. It was so unexpected. She realized her mouth had dropped open at the sight of the large diamond, so she closed it. Recovering from the initial shock, Kate looked into his eyes and saw his worry through the nervous smile. He was scared to death she would say no. She smiled. "Yes," she answered firmly.

His smile widened, losing its worried edge as she drew him in for a kiss. He took the box from her and she threw her arms around him, kissing him over and over again, saying nothing but telling him everything he needed to know. When she pulled away, he took the ring, and slid it onto her finger where it sat perfectly.

Kate surveyed it only for a moment—a wonderful feeling of warm happiness bubbling up in her chest—before turning back to him. Her lips met his softly.

"Does this mean that I might get lucky tonight?" He asked, true to Castle form.

Beckett grinned. "Oh, yes, Mr. Castle. I believe it most certainly does."

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So what did you think? Let me know with a review!**


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